


Don't leave me

by Marberley



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angry Keith (Voltron), Angst and Feels, Child Abuse, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Foster Kid Keith (Voltron), Gen, Hugs, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) Friendship, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Kid Keith (Voltron), Lonely Keith (Voltron), M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Protective Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-07-11 07:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15967346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marberley/pseuds/Marberley
Summary: Everything was fine with just the two of them.Now Keith was all alone surrounded by strangers who did nothing but harm him in ways Keith had never experienced before. Keith had felt lonely before, when his dad would go to work and leave Keith home alone, no mother, she had left a long time ago. But he would always come back and make up for the missing time. But this time it was different, no one was comming, not his mother and especially not his dad.Being surrounded by people who wanted you nothing but harm for so long could change a person. It changed a happy, cheerfull boy into an angry, troubled and lonely foster kid with no hope left for his future. That is untill he meets Officer Shirogane





	1. Two lonely souls and a purple hippo

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first ever fan-fiction.  
> I really love The broganes (Keith and Shiro) and Pre-Kerberos is my favourite time for those two, cause I feel like so much have habened between those two during that time. So here is my view on them and I hope you will join me on this journey into my version on the Pre-Kerberos time.
> 
> **************  
> IMPORTANT
> 
> Before reading I would like to remind you that I´m from Denmark wich means English isn´t my first language. So I´m sorry if the spelling is a bit off and my writing skills might not be the best, but I will let you be the judge of that. I´ll try and update as often as possible untill I´ve found a pattern.  
> untill then...  
> I hope you´ll enjoy it and please feel free to leave a comment with feedback or whatever you feel I need to know ^^
> 
> Enjoy.

**2 Months**

 

Tex stood in the small wooden kitchen, cleaning the dishes from todays last meal. He couldn´t stop the grin that had spread across his face. Keith had sat with his mother during dinner and while reaching out for the tiny plastic spoon in his mothers hand he let out a sound that gave a warm and proud feeling inside his chest. He could only imagine that the feeling must´ve been ten times as strong inside Krolias chest. Her eyes had widened when she realised what the tiny dark-haired infant had mumbled in his reach for his mothers hand.

"Ma...ma...", it took Krolia and Tex a few seconds to process the words their only child had said for the first time. He didn´t stop the mumbling after that and soon it turned it to more of a whining when he couldn´t reach the spoon. The whine did it´s job. Krolia and Tex both snapped out of their shock. A smile spread accrose their faces and the proud feeling had appeared in them both. The whine had stopped when Krolia let the spoon slid into Keiths mouth. After that the two had settled into their roles and Krolia had brought them both upstairs when Keith had dosed off in her arms. 

Tex had finished cleaning up and draged his tired legs up the stairs. He slowly opened the door and stug his head in, only to see his beloved son lay in his mothers arms, while she had wrapped her arms and body around him. Like seeing a predator protect it´s pray, only in this case it was a mother who protected her only child from the dangers of the outside world. No one should harm her son and live to tell the tale, not as long as she was here. It simply brought a resting smile on the fathers face, knowing that he could rest, well knowing that his son was loved and protected by both father and mother. Tex walked closer to the bed his family was resting on, and as he came closer he noticed how Keiths thumb had found it´s way in between his soft, tiny lips. Tex pulled off his shirt and slid under the covers, he wrapped his arm around the woman lying beside him and lot his son hold on to his other hand with a gentle grip. 

All three slept well that night surrounded by the people they loved more then anything. Keith lay in the middle between his beloved parents. Feeling safe and warm in his sleep.

 

**6 Months**

 

Krolia had left in the morning while Keith had been asleep. Tex had spend the morning in grief. His mind was stuck with the memories of the past six month. Krolia crashing in her ship, Tex carrying her trembling body in his arms while telling her that it was going to be alright. Learning about the remarcble blue lion that lay hidden in the deserts caves. And how it was part of something even bigger. falling in love with her hadn´t been part of his plan and it sure hadn´t been a part of Krolias either. But the two could do nothing but grow close. They were both two lonely souls, hidden in the desert. When Krolia had approuched Tex with her pregnancy Tex could do nothing but let his eyes widden in surprise. Soon a smile had spread across his face from ear to ear. And he had wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug. His reaction had rubbed off on Krolia as she had hugged him back and let a light giggle escape her throat.

The couple couldn´t have been more happy when their son had been brought into the world. They spend the whole night resting in bed with their small child asleep in their arms. Neither of them could sleep that night from the unfamiliar feeling that had build inside them from the moment they had layed eyes on their infant son. It was strange and a bit uncomfortable but it helled a deep meaning. They had become parents now and were simply worried for their sons well being. They had spend the next months with Krolia staying home taking care of Keith while Tex had taken care of his job as a fireman. Tex could easily go to work well knowing that his son would be safe and entertained with his mother. Krolia had enjoyed every second she had gotten with Keith. She couldn´t help but letting out a few chuckles when he had spilled his breakfast all over the table. He let out a few giggles before letting his mother clean up his hands and chin. 

But now she was gone...

Tex was all alone with their son, their child. His thought had drifted off when the sound of a babys crys had filled the house. Keith. Tex let out a small sigh and lot a smile appear on his face. Yes Krolia was gone. But he wasn´t alone and he couldn´t let Keith feel alone either. He went in to the bedroom prepared for everything his son could throw at him. Wether it being a hungry stumach or simply being terrified of the empty room on the second floor. But Tex couldn´t have been more wrong. No matter how much he tried to calm Keith down with a cueing speech. No matter what he tried. The infant he cradled in his arms wouldn´t stop crying. Tex spend days with a crying Keith. Keith would only stop crying when he had worn himself out and would let his eyelids take over. Even in his sleep Keith would sometimes let out a small whimper.

 

Keith was missing his mother...

 

Tex had had to take off a few days after Krolia had left. He would have to bring Keith with him to work. Maybe, let Lara the receptionist look out for him. She had children herself, though, they were much older then Keith was. But she had often talked to him about how much she missed those days when she could embrace the small infants. It would be great if he knew at least someone he trusted could take care of his only child. Especially when he was on his way to set out the fires with his coworkers. Keith had worn himself out again, and Tex decided to use this opportunity to sneak out the house and drive off in to the city.

 

***********************

 

He came home to a quiet house. Holding tight on to the bag in his hand Tex went excited upstairs. Only to find Keith sitting in his crib whimpering for himself. The whimpers turned into a loud cry as soon as his eyes noticed the tall figure of his father. Comming up close Tex crouched down beside the bars surrounding the six month old infant. 

"Hey Keithy.... shhh... It´s okay son", Tex calmly cued as he scooped him up in his arms. The crys went down a bit but not enough to stop the tightness in his fathers chest. A feeling he had gotten everytime Keith had started to cry. And nothing, not even a bit of tickling would make Keith change his mood. So now Tex wanted to try a new method. He pulled up a stuffie from the bag and held it up infront of Keiths teary purple eyes. Tex loved the eyes of his son. They reminded him of Krolias. Tex couldn´t help but feel warmth inside his chest everytime he glanced at them.

 

"Look here Keith... see? I´ve got someone here who wants to meet you", Keith looked up with a still trembling lip. His eyes widened in the sight of the prurple hippo stuffie infront of his eyes. He used both his hands to reach out and grab the hippo with a small whimp in his throat. he pulled it close to his chest. He had a tight grib on it and Tex wouldn´t dare take it from him again. The small child had calmed down as soon as the softness of the hippo had reached his skin. Keith lay his small head down on his farthers broad shoulders. And now both father and son could relax and only wait to see what the future would throw at them.

 


	2. Simpler times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith had made a discovery when it came to his family. Apparently he´s supposed to have a father and a mother but, where is she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you enjoy this chapter^^ 
> 
> It´s so much longer then the last one, hope that´s okay!
> 
> Enjoy.

**3 years**

  
It had been 3 years since his mother had left in order to protect their planet. Of course, Tex couldn´t tell his son that but, it didn´t seem like it bothered Keith not having a mother figure around. Maybe because he didn’t know that it was a priority for children to have a loving mother in their life. Tex knew he could never be the perfect father. The night he had seen a big ball of light and flames come crashing down in the desert, he wasn´t really prepared for what came later, after he had saved the soon to be love of his life. He never saw himself as a father, not when he was living by himself in the desert, surrounded by no one. but that all changed when he and Krolia had fallen in love. And if he should be honest. he didn´t regret a thing.  
Keith was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He never yelled at him or got mad for that matter. Cause he didn´t have a reason to. Keith was a happy ball of light, who loved his dad as much as his dad loved him.

"Dad! Wake up! Dad!" A loud whine was the first thing Tex heard in the morning. nothing unusual here. "Dad! I´m hungry..."  
Tex could feel a light weight on his chest and a hard surface below him. He opened his eyes, everything seemed blurry. He rubbed his eyes and opened both of them only to see a pair of wide purple eyes stare at him, with a grumpy expression. Not a favorite of the many faces his son could pull off.

  
"I. Am. Hungry!" Keith had both of his tiny hands planted on his fathers chest and shook them as much as his tiny arms now could manage.

  
"And we can´t have that, can we?" Tex said with a grin. He slowly sat up and realized that was a mistake.

Last night Keith and his father had decided to watch a movie. "But no movie without a blanket fort!" At least that was how Tex had expressed it last night. soon enough the two laid close up against each other among soft pillows and colorful blankets. Keith was in charge of snacks while Tex stood for the proportion of the fort. And when Keith came back with a bawl filled with chocolate bars, candy and a hippo in his arms, they could settle down. Keith lay clutched up against his father while hugging his hippo. Tex lay with an arm hugged around his sons shoulders chewing on pieces of candy.  
It started with Keith falling asleep in his fathers embrace hugging his hippo. And soon enough both father and son had drifted off to the sound of the movie´s credits and the silent peace that surrounded the sleeping duo.

  
"Dad!" Keith managed to say as he laughed his heart out. Tex laughed as well as he pulled off the blankets from the giggling boy in front of him.  
Tex sighed with a grin as he pulled the three year old up in his strong arms. He tickled his tummy as he walked towards the kitchen.

”Let´s get some food in that belly shall we?” He teased. The smile that spread across his sons face was priceless and the laughter that spread across the room was enough to make Tex´s chest to go all warm. He wouldn´t change this for the world.  
He opened one of the few cabinets in the kitchen. He let out an exhausted sigh when he looked down at the empty cereal box. He wasn´t even surprised when Keith stood at the fridge with an almost empty milk. It was outdated.  
Nothing new under the sun, Tex thought. This was one of the many things he had had to get used to when becoming a father. Milk and cereal wasn´t exactly something Tex used to carry out of the supermarket when being alone. He didn´t mind of course but it took some getting used to. Sometimes he´d just forget that a growing boy couldn´t just live off of toast and coffee.

”How does pancakes sound?”

  
***

The familiar sound of the bell rang when the growing man and young son stepped in to the diner. Tex was well aware that this wasn´t an ideal meal solution for his three year old son. But he´d rather pull him through this then feed his taste buds with one of his fathers experimental meals.  
Sometimes Lara, or one of the other women at the fire station would cook meals for them. He never asked them to, but when he had brought his son to work a long time ago people couldn´t help but worry about the tiny infant. They were all well aware of Tex´s old habits. Everyone wanted to help out with something. He couldn´t have felt more relieved especially when one of the things he was afraid of was bringing his son to work, every day, since he couldn´t just leave him to himself, obviously. Everyone loved Keith and Keith loved coming to the station, he knew everyone and it was nice being surrounded with more people for a change.

”Here again huh?” The waitress asked. They knew each other pretty well since Tex came here allot before and after Keith was brought in to the world. ”Tch you got to find someone who can help you out Tex” she said, shaking her head. 

”Nah we´re good right son?” Tex said with a grin on his face ruffling his sons hair.  


"Uh Huh!” Keith nodded and took his fathers hand with one of his, the other held on to the hippo.  
They sat down in the red stall by the window, their usual spot, ordered pancakes and a cup of coffee and some milk. Keith held his hippo tight in a hug while waiting for their breakfast. He was smiling. This made Tex think back on the day he had brought the purple hippo home for his crying son.  
He thought of how he had immediately stopped crying when pulling the almost 3 times bigger plush into his body in a tight hug, just like now. Tex believed part of the comfort he had gotten from it back then was from the memory of his mother, her purple skin, but unfortunately those memories was long gone by now.

***

**6 years old**

  
Keith stood in the parking lot clinging to his fathers hand with a tight grip. He stared at the building in front of them with a sad frown.

  
”Do I have too…?” He asked low enough that Tex was barely able to hear it. He crouched down in front of his son with an understandable expression on his face. He felt his chest tighten when he glanced at Keith wobbling lip. He took both of his sons tiny soft hands and held them loose. 

”Keith buddy… It´s gonna be okay I promise” He said trying to lighten the mood, but like the days of long ago Keith´s mood didn´t change. Tex let out a small sigh as he scratched the bag of his neck. He never liked forcing Keith to do things. But school was important and this was his change to make friends his own age, instead of friends his fathers age.

  
”Hey… I´ll be right here when you´re done, and then we can go meet up with the others and celebrate your first day”, he tried in vain to get eye contact with the small boy in front of him. When he saw small tears gather in the egde of his sons eyes he just felt more at lost. _`Krolia what shall I do´_ He thought and then it hit him.

  
Back when his mother was still there, he remembered when Keith would cry after waking up in an empty room. Krolia would rush in to the bedroom and pull the small baby up in her arms. She cradled him for awhile and if he didn´t stop, she´d let their foreheads meet while shushing him lightly with a smile on the edge of her lips. Keith would stop crying and relax, she´d kiss his forehead and embrace him lightly.  
Tex lot his hand slide behind Keith's little head. He could feel the softness of his dark brown hair, an unusual hair color just like his mothers, neither Tex nor Krolia had this color of hair.  
He slowly pulled their foreheads together and rubbed the back of Keith’s head with one hand, while holding his small hand with the other.

  
”It´s gonna be okay buddy… remember I´m right here when you get back. I won´t leave you…”

***

Keith came out with a wide grin on his face the moment he saw his dad. He ran towards his father like it was the first time he had seen him in years. Tex crouched down and spread his arms with a happy grin stuck on his face.  
Keith ran right in to his fathers embrace. Tex could´ve sworn he´d never felt Keith hold this tight on to him like he did now. It just made him regret sending him off to school even more. He wasn´t going to stop though, even though it pained him he had to set his foot down. It was supposed to be tough for Keith. He hadn´t had a realization to kid his age before. At least that´s what Tex told himself.  
He scooped Keith up in his arms and gave him a big hug. Looking over Keith’s small shoulder he noticed how other parents would pick up their children from school. Some held their children’s hand. Some, didn´t even bother holding their hands but just shoved them towards the car.

_`Maybe I´m not doing that bad of a job´_

***

“Congratulations!”

  
Keith was swooped up in grown arms. He was held up by his legs so he got even higher up in the air. He was sat on the shoulders of one of the firemen, watching as some of them proudly clapped his father on his shoulder. Keith couldn´t help but let out a giggle as he was passed around among all the employees.

“You´re a big boy now huh Keith?” Lara said holding Keith in her arms.

  
“Uh huh…” the corner of his mouth turned down. He looked down on the floor and tried to avoid eye contact with anyone. Everyone noticed and looked at Keith with a sad expression, one of the men that stood beside Tex looked at him with a lifted eyebrow.

“What´s going on Kogane” he leaned closer to Tex and whispered.

  
Keith was sat down on the ground again. He walked to his dad and held his hand while hiding behind him. Everyone looked in shock with wide eyes, and chins falling to the floor. Tex on the other hand felt his heart shatter as he felt Keith holding tight on to the rim of his fathers shirt.

  
Some of Tex´s good friends were his colleges the couple, Marc and Zane. They had entered the fire department together and had been best palls ever since. Lara and Tex had grown closer after the few years Lara had spend watching out for his son. Then there was Rebecca and Maya they had always been all over Keith from the moment they lay eyes on him.  
Everyone had been there while Keith was growing up. So of course they were all over him when he suddenly acted out of his usual bright self.  
Marc who stood beside Tex crouched down and tried making contact with Keith.

“Hey Keithy everything all right?” Marc spoke with a calm deep voice. 

“I´m m´okay…” Keith mumbled into his fathers shirt. It was almost impossible to here the words he spoke but Marc managed.

***

They all sat at the usual diner stall eating burgers and drinking milkshakes. Keith sat with the hippo between his thighs while struggling to hold on to his burger. Or what was left of it, all the filling had fallen out of it the moment he tried to bite down on the two buns. His fingers was sticky, filled with ketchup and mustard. Every time he took a bite Mustard and Ketchup would build up around his mouth, some even dripped down on his shirt.  
Rebecca, who sat to Keith´s right, noticed when a sticky hand reach out towards a chocolate milkshake. She immediately took a bunch of napkins and turned towards the messy boy.

“Keith you little pig”, She giggled as she held his hand and cleaned it with the napkin.

”Here we go” She continued and worked her way up to his messy mouth.

“Thanks Rebecca” Tex smiled as he stood up from Keith’s left. ”Come on buddy, let´s get you fixed up” Keith slid off the stall couch and took his father grown hand. They walked hand in hand, and a hippo in hand, away towards the restroom

 

***

  
Tex lifted Keith up on the counter. He pulled a bunch of paper towels out of the dispenser hanging on the wall. He made them a bit wet and started cleaning his son.  
Keith had been smiling through the whole meal but as soon as they entered the restroom, the smile faded. When Tex turned around to throw out the paper towels he heard something that simply made his stomach drop.  
He heard a faint sniffle from behind.

  
He turned around slowly, only to see his 6 year old son holding his hippo tight in to his body. His frowned face leaned on the head of his purple friend and a single tear slipped down from his eye on to the hippos scalp.  
_`No, no, no ,no this isn´t happening! Why is this happening?! What did I do wrong?´_ Tex´s mind wend wild. He had no idea what was happening to his son, the light of his life, the little bawl of sunshine that always made his heart melt whenever his son would laugh out loud, the child that had brought out Tex´s goofy side when his son would be grumpy and make that adorable angry face.

  
“Keith…?” He slowly walked towards his son and held up his hand only to let it slide down his child´s cheek. He dried away the tear from Keith´s face with his thumb. Keith lot his hand lay on top of his fathers, which only made Tex´s brows move even closer together in a face of vulnerability. 

“Dad…?” a cracked voice spoke.  
Tex nodded, brushing his thumb through Keith’s hair. His eyes gazed at his sons teary eyes. The light from above made the tears stand even more out then the single tear that had slipped out. It became very clear for Tex that his son was trying his best not to cry. But the blurry eyes gave in and the tears was streaming down his red cheeks.

  
Tex couldn´t stand still and just looked as his son was in pain, so he gave in to his fatherly instincts and pulled Keith up in his arms. He held a hand below his bottom and another held his head into his fathers caring shoulder.  
The quiet room was filled with the most painful sobs, it made Tex´s heart go numb. Keith clung to his fathers shoulder and buried his crying face in to his fathers strong neck. The grown man stood still in the public room, caressing his son back.

“It´s okay Keithy… I´m here…”, He didn´t want to push Keith to tell him what was wrong, all Keith needed to know was that: “Dad´s here… “

  
When Keith´s little cries had been calmed down to small hiccups, Tex gave him his hippo and stroke his hair and used his thumb to dry away the last tears.  
Tex leaned in front of his sons face and gave him a reassuring look, letting Keith know that his dad was right here. Keith sniffled and rubbed his eye with one of his small fists while a light kiss was planted on his forehead.

“Wanna tell your old man what´s wrong…?” Tex asked in a soothing tone.

  
“How come…”, Keith mumbled a little unsure, fidgeting with the collar on his fathers shirt, “How come I don´t have a mommy…?”

  
Tex was caught completely unaware, he stood with wide eyes. This was the first time Keith had ever brought up his mother. But he had to pull himself together, this was an important moment for Keith. If he wasn´t careful Keith could end up feeling bad about his mother, maybe even hate her for leaving.

  
Tex didn´t want that, yes it was hard for him to say goodbye but he understood the meaning behind her actions, he understood where she came from. She wanted to protect their son. She loved Keith more then anything and leaving him was heartbreaking. Keith was six years old, maybe he wouldn´t be quit as understanding as his father.

  
“Of course you have a mother Keith”, He took Keith´s hand and stroke it gentle with his thumb.

  
_`Where did this come from?´ Tex thought about earlier today when Keith came home from school. `Did something happen at school?´_

And something had indeed happened at school today…

***

“Alright children today we´re going to get to know everyone” They all sat in a big circle and Keith couldn´t feel more uncomfortable.

  
“So you are going to say you name”, she held up one finger and soon raised another one when pointing out the requirements “your age, your family and your favorite color” She smiled holding up fore fingers.

  
“So who wants to start?” she asked with a very friendly smile, maybe a bit too friendly, at least that´s what Keith thought. Over half of the small strangers raised their hands.  
She picked a girl two seats from Keith and all eyes gazed at her.

  
“My name is Rachel Anderson and I´m six!” The girl said with a big grin one her face, “and in my family it´s me, my dad, mom and my big brother! And my favorite color is yellow! ” Keith sat still but on the inside he was everything but still, a mom…?

  
The boy beside Keith was told to speak but also here a word stood out amongst all the other words that the children spoke.

  
“I´m James Griffin and I´m 7”, The boy said holding up 7 fingers “And I live with my dad and my mom. My favorite color is blue” the boy said with an excited expression on his face.  
Keith new that a mom was a thing, he had seen enough movies to know that they existed, but what made him uncomfortable was that everyone seemed to have one… some even two.  
After a few other annoying presentations of their so called “family” it became Keith´s turn.

  
“My name is Keith Kogane… I´m six…” Keith mumbled a bit but the teacher just smiled and made him keep going, “ I live with my dad…and I like red” He tried to brighten up the word red to give his presentation a more finishing touch. But this is where it all went wrong, even the teacher did a horrible job making her tensed smile seem natural.

  
“What about your mom!?” it was the boy whose name was James.

  
“I don´t have a mom…” Keith said looking a bit grumpy since the boy had to be so loud about it.

  
“Is she dead?” A girl from across the floor asked.

  
“Children! Stop with all the questions… Keith it´s alright to not have a mommy, all your families sounds incredible” She said with a soothing smile spreading across her lips.  
They sat in about ten minutes playing some games until the teacher `Ms. Garret´ had to show two of his new classmates to the bathroom.

Keith sat looking at the floor and fidget with his shoelaces when a shadow spread across the floor.

  
“Why don´t you live with your mommy?” Keith recognized the voice, he sighed on the inside `James´.

  
“I don´t know I just don´t have one…” Keith mumbled thinking the answer was enough for the seven year old. But then he felt a pair of hands pushing him down on his back.

  
“That´s stupid!” He looked mad at Keith… but why? Was it that bad not to have a mother? What was a mother even supposed to do? Wasn´t a dad enough? He had so many questions. All he had ever known was a dad, how was he supposed to know what it was like having a mother when he never even remembered having one?

  
“Hey everyone Keith doesn´t have a mom!” He pointed at Keith and everyone gathered around him. Keith looked at all the children gathered around him, how they pointed at him and started whispering into each others ears.

  
“Maybe she didn´t like him?” “Maybe she´s dead?” “My mom told me about something called adoption” All those little whispers made Keith anxious, no, it made him angry. He clenched his fists and made a frowned face.  
This was Griffins fault!

***

The two boys sat at outside the office, while their teacher was talking to the principle. He had told them that he wouldn´t contact their parents since it was their first day, and that he also hoped this would be the first and last time he´d see them up here.  
Keith of course was the one who got the blame since he attacked James first. But James´s words had hurt Keith first, and he couldn´t get the words out of his head. He just wanted his dad to hold him in one of his famous hugs.

***

The answer seemed good enough for the six year old as he gave his dad a nod and leaned back into his fathers touch. He rested his head on his fathers shoulder and relaxed while Tex carried Keith back to the stall.  
Everyone approached the duo with welcoming smiles and as the evening approached, the group got ready to leave. Tex and Zane stood at the counter waiting for the others. Of course the women were still talking while getting ready, and it didn´t exactly help when the waitress joined in. Marc was helping Keith with his jacket and backpack.

“You´re doing a pretty good job you know?” Zane stood leaning up against the wall looking towards Marc and Keith.

  
“Tch… I don´t know. I feel like I´m making it up as I go” Tex said sighing as he pulled his hand through his hair.  
Marc ruffled Keith´s hair, and a cute giggle left Keith´s throat. Tex and Zane couldn´t help but coo at the tiny delight from across the room.

“Honestly Kogane, what mother leaves her own child just like-“ Zane didn´t get to say more as Tex cut him off.

  
“ Don´t talk about her like that Zane… She loved him more then anything...” Zane accepted his friends answer with a slight sigh.

  
“I´m Sorry, I shouldn´t have jumped to conclusions… but don´t be too hard on yourself, I mean look at him. He has changed you for the better Kogane” Zane looked at Tex with a frowned smile.

  
“I just want him to be happy” Tex smiled at the sight of his son, “can´t wait to see what sort of man he will become… maybe I should raise him to become a fireman?” Tex looked thoughtful, held his chin between his thumb and index finger and made a wry mouth.  
Zane began bursting into laughter.

  
“Just wait till his rebellious teenage state”, He said with a grin on his face.

  
“Just kill me now and get it over with”, Tex whined and lot a hand slid down his face.

Keith came running towards his dad with his hippo in one hand and a happy grin on his face.

  
“Dad! Maya said she would make my lunches for school”, he ran in to his fathers embrace and hugged him tight.

 

***

Keith had fallen asleep in the car on the way home, so when the time came he never got to say goodbye to his firemen family before they drove home them self. As Tex carried the tiny human who lay up against his chest inside, he noticed the grey clouds filling the dark sky.

  
He laid Keith down in his small bed, that Tex had filled up with a bunch of pillows and blankets, he wanted Keith to be as comfortable as possible! He slowly tried to pull of his clothes not wanting to wake him up and put on his pajamas.  
He looked so small, as Tex pulled the comforter up to Keith´s chin, he couldn´t help but think of what Keith had asked his father. Apparently, he hadn´t been good enough to let the thought of a mother enter Keith´s mind. He didn´t even know he had a mother…

  
Tex couldn´t help but feel he had let Krolia down. Krolia. If only she could see him now, if only she could´ve been here kissing his forehead, stroking his hair aside, making sure he felt loved and save.  
But she wasn´t at least not now. In some ways Tex believed that one day she would knock on their door and come live with them again.

  
Tex went to bed that night unable to fall asleep with all these thoughts going through his mind. He laid in bed listening to the silent room, the rain came falling on the window. It was calming and then the thunder came, the room lit up when the lightning came crashing down somewhere in the distance.

***

It was 1 am when Tex heard a small knock on the door, lost in thought a hope that only lasted for a sec thought `Kroli-´

  
“Dad?”

  
`Keith?´

  
The thunder roared outside, and a small thud came from the other side of the door.

  
“Dad!?”

  
Tex came to a realization, and jumped out of his sheets opening the door. He had barely opened the door completely as small arms tugged around his legs. Tex crouched down and took Keith up to his chest.

  
“Come here buddy…” He groaned as he lay all three `if you counted the hippo too´ down in the bed. He tugged Keith in under his arm. Keith moved close into his fathers chest, closed his eyes tight and hugged his hippo as if his life depended on it.

“It´s okay Keith…”, he soothed him. He couldn´t help but let out an amused sigh.  
They lay there for about 20 minutes while the storm roared outside and every time a light or thunder stroke, Keith´s body would jump and he would let out a small wimp. Then a time came where everything went quiet. The storm had calmed down as well as Keith, and he finally thought he could let his head rest.

“Dad..?” Keith´s let out a small mumble and Tex was barely able to hear him through his tired ears.

  
“What´s wrong son…?” Tex asked with an amused tone in his voice.

  
“If I have a mom… where is she…?” Keith looked up from his fathers chest with his big purple eyes.  
Tex let out a small sigh, he couldn´t blame his sons curiosity. It was his mom after all.

  
“She had to leave Keith…” ,Tex looked down brushing Keith´s cheek with the back of his hand “but Keith I need you to listen to what I´m saying now” Keith sat up and so did Tex, he sat with crossed legs and placed Keith on his thighs, pulling the comforter around him.  
“Your mom loves you more then anything”, He held Keith´s chin up making him look him directly in the eyes,” and leaving you was the most difficult thing she ever had to do.”

  
He wasn´t sure if Keith understood but something made it in to his head, Tex was confident that he would grow up with some understanding of his mothers choice.

  
“When is she coming back then?” His fragile voice made him seem so small and innocent. Tex was never going to understand how he had deserved such a wonderful child.

  
“ I don´t know buddy, but you will meet her some day I´m curtain” , he pocked Keith´s nose with his index finger and Keith let out a small giggle. Tex couldn´t help but do the same.

  
“ But for now the only thing you need to remember is that you have a mother, and she loves you with all her heart, and so does your dad” He said before landing a soft kiss on the top of his head. Keith smiled and hugged his dad.

  
“I love you too dad”


	3. In the blink of an eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things was tough ay school, but it was nothing compared to what happened next.  
> Everything chaned in the blink of aneye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter. I´ve spend 4 days on it XD  
> Hope it was worth it, you´re welcome to share your thoughs in the comment section down below.^^
> 
> Enjoy.

  
Keith woke with a warm and comfortable feeling on his face. He blinked his eyes open and met blinding sunrays beam through the bedroom window.  
Rolling over to lay on his left side, away from the sight of the window, he realized that their was missing something in the queen size bed. The little boy sat up in the empty bed. He held his purple companion in his small embrace, looking around the bedroom.

  
“Dad…?” Keith slid carefully off the bed and shuffled towards the door. He opened it slowly and went to the stairs.

  
“Dad?”

“Down here buddy!” A warm familiar voice spoke from downstairs.

  
Tex stood in the kitchen making eggs and bacon. Everyone of his colleges had forced him to learn how to cook at least some basic meals, so Keith could enjoy a real home cooked meal. So everyone had been gathering at The Koganes for the past few weeks, and taught Tex the fundamentals of cooking and how to behave in a kitchen surrounded by descent ingredients.  
  
Tex heard a few small thuds coming from the stairs. As he looked he saw his small son in his red pajamas come down the stairs one step at the time. As usual he had his hippo with him, dragging it along side down the stairs.

  
“You weren´t upstairs...” The small child yawned while rubbing his eye.

  
“No,” Tex chuckled at the tired exclamation from his son “ I was down here making breakfast for us, I thought I´d let you sleep.” Though looking at how tired his son looked now, it didn´t seem to have helped that much.  
Keith could smell the warm and greasy bacon roast on the frying pan. He walked closer to his father and held on to the hem of his shirt.  
Tex looked down as he could feel a pull in his shirt. Keith was trying his best to look over the edge of the counter, at some point he even got on his toes but Tex wouldn´t let him. He placed his hand on his sons soft hair and pushed him down.

  
“No you have to wait.” He chuckled and lot a smile spread on his face.

  
“Hey!” Keith huffed with a grumpy face, and folded his arms. “no fair…” He mumbled.  
Tex turned off the stove and brought the frying pan with scrambled eggs and bacon to the table, while pushing his grumpy son towards the seats.

They sat at the table and Tex couldn´t help but grin when his son brought some eggs towards his mouth, and let a big smile form on his face. In the blink of an eye Keiths mood had went from grumpy to a little star shining in his dads life.  
 _`If only you could see him now…´_ Tex couldn´t help but let his thoughts drift off to the beautiful woman who once sat where their prodigy sat now.

  
“…..ad?”

  
“Dad?”

Tex blinked himself back to reality, and met the gaze from his son. Keith couldn´t help but let out a light laughter.  
Tex burst out laughing over his sudden disappearance and the little ones giggles.

  
“Remember what we´re doing today?” Tex asked his overjoyed son, with his mouth full of, for once homemade breakfast. Keith shook his head no, with a questionable expression on his face.

  
“No?” Tex made a goofy suspicious expression and stood up, and walked up behind Keith. The seven year old followed his father all the way around with his head. Keith sat with his head leaned all the way back, looking straight up at his father. Tex had a mischievous smirk on his lips. He grabbed around his sons stomach and pulled him up from his chair.

  
“Argh!” Keith let out a cry and started laughing, when his farther pulled up his shirt and blew raspberries on his tummy. He held Keith in a fireman position and went to the sofa. He threw himself gently in the sofa with Keith laying on his chest.  
Keith sat up, but as he did his father immediately started to tickle him. The child tried to grab his fathers hands, and as he did he used all his child strength. Of course Tex pretended not to have any strength when his arms were pushed down on the sofa. Keith held down his fathers muscular arms with a grin.

  
“Stargazing remember?” Tex said looking deep in to his sons purple eyes. Krolia was back in his mind, and once again Tex almost dozed off with a wandering look. What would it have been like if his mom had been here?

***

Keith sat in the classroom among all his so called “classmates”. He sat besides the girl named Rachel, and in front of him sat the one and only “golden boy” James Griffin.

  
“Okay children, today we´re going to make something extra special for parents day next week” Ms. Garret announced. Keith unlike everyone else wasn´t excited for parents day. They had had parents day before last year, and back then his dad wasn´t able to attend.   
Instead Keith had had to show up with Lara the receptionist from the fire department . They had left after 10 minutes do to Keith not wanting to stay surrounded by all those families.   
He didn´t expect this year to be any different, though his dad had promised he´d come this time. But honestly, Keith didn´t want his dad to show up. They were going to show how well their kids were doing in school, and Keith didn´t do that well. And he hadn´t been dumb enough to tell his dad.

“You´re going to write a letter to your parents, and you can write whatever you like,” She handed out a piece of paper for each student, “The purpose of this assignment is, that your parents gets to see how well you´re doing when it comes to your writing” She went through the whole explanation with a proud tone in her voice.

  
She made it sound like they were all on the same level, which off course annoyed the girl to his left. Rachel was such a goody two shoes. She raised her hand so high, Keith thought it was going to fall off. 

“How many words Ms. Garret?!” She shouted, Keith looked disgusted at her, and then let his gaze fall down on the table again. He folded his arms on the table and let his chin rest on them with a sigh.

“As many as you please Ms. Anderson.” She smiled as she motioned for Rachel to sit down. “I´m gonna go get some things you can decorate your letters with, I expect you all to behave while I´m gone” Keith had a suspected she was referring to him.

She left the room and everyone immediately began to write their letter. Everyone but Keith. He had no idea of what to write, and of course Rachel noticed.

“Don´t you know what to write?” She asked with a gentle voice, looking at Keith´s empty paper, in comparison to his letter, Rachel´s looked like something that had been written by an author.  
Keith was about to answer but as soon as he opened his mouth, another voice filled the room. One that Keith never liked the sound of.

“Keith should write an apology letter to his mom, for being such a bad son since she had to leave!” The room was everything but quiet, everyone gasped at James´ comment. James was grinning and seemed more than proud of his comment, especially when tears was forming in Keith´s eyes.  
Keith was grinding his teeth.

“I mean she must have disliked you, or else she wouldn´t have left, would she?” James threw Keith´s paper at him. “You can address it to..” He dragged the word “to” to create suspense. “ Oh wait! You don´t know!”   
The whole class started to laugh. And then Keith stood up in rage, he looked furious at James. His shoulders went up and down, from his heavy breathing, and his hands turned in to fists.  
“Or maybe you would like to address it to heaven?” James smirked, standing up. He was a bit taller then Keith, but he didn´t care. What did catch Keith´s attention was his blurry sight and as he blinked, tears was rolling down from his eyes and down his cheeks. His lip began to tremble, but his eyebrows formed an angry frown.

  
“Oh are you gonna run home to mommy and cr-“ James didn´t get to say more as Keith punched him, and threw himself at him.

  
“Shut up!” Keith was crying but neither of them noticed as Keith sat on James´ chest shaking him and landing a few fists on him. Everyone seemed to had gathered around them, yelling all kinds off things. They were all voting for James to punch back.   
It did seem to work at some point, James was pulling Keith´s hair, and blocking one of his arms. But none of that was important when a loud thud filled the room. Of course Keith didn´t care, he kept going, until something pulled him away.

“That´s enough Kogane!”  
Keith didn´t quit get everything that was happening, it all went so fast. But he did spot Rachel standing in front of the class with a shocked Ms. Garret at her side. It was obvious that she had been the one who went and got a teacher as soon as Keith had stood up.

***

  
Keith sat outside of the principals office on one of the many chairs. It was like a waiting room at the doctor. James was sitting on a chair 5 seats from Keith. They both had their gaze down on the floor. Keith sniffled as he listened to the grown ups talk in the office.  
Keith pulled up his legs and hugged his knees. He let his head rest in his folded arms.

“Mr. Kogane this is the second time this week Keith has had an outburst” The principal said

  
“Listen maybe you shouldn´t leave a room full of unsupervised children, but instead do your job!” Tex almost shouted, but you could clearly hear the anger in his voice.

  
“Excuse me!? My son was the one being attacked by your child Again!” Mrs. Griffin stated.

  
“Well maybe you should start asking Why he attacked him in the first place?” Tex let out an exhausted sigh and held the area between his eyes with his thump and index finger.

  
“Well it´s obvious isn´t it?” She gazed at Tex and when their eyes caught each other, she immediately looked at the principal, “ The lack of a mothers touch can easily corrupt a young child like him”  
Tex looked shocked at her, and Ms. Garret who stood beside the principal did as well.

  
“Mrs. Griffin don you think you´re-“ but the principal was cut off by the overwhelmed lady, at Tex` left.

  
“James has told me how Keith has had several outbursts and showed clear signs of lack of empathy. Not only is he disobedient but also violent, I suggest that you-“

Keith couldn´t listen to it anymore and covered his ears with his hands.  
He didn´t look up until he felt a poke on his head. When he looked up he didn´t expect Rachel to stand in front of him, she was saying something, so Keith quickly removed his hands to hear what she had to say.

“Hey Keith… I just wanted to give you this, I´m sorry about your mom, but maybe you can write something nice for your dad?” She showed him the hand she had been hiding behind her back, and held out a creased piece of paper.   
It was the paper James had thrown at him. Maybe she felt bad about telling on him?

  
“What are you doing..?” James was asking 5 seats away, he seemed very unpleased by Rachel´s actions.

  
“I´m just trying to be nice, mind your own business!” She hushed at James. Both boys were stunned with wide eyes by her words. Keith slowly took the paper from her hands, she smiled friendly at him and then walked off.  
Keith´s eyes followed her all the way down the hall, until she turned at a corner. He let his eyes move down to the paper in his hand.

Though he didn´t have much time to think about it before the office door opened. First came Mrs. Griffin storming out the room, not giving Keith as much as a thought when she passed by. She took James hard by the hand and stormed off.  
Keith looked their way frowning his brows with a sad expression. He let his gaze fall down again when he heard another pair of feet walk out of the office. He could gaze a silhouette out of the corner of his eyes. When it stopped in front of him, he immediately knew who it was.

Tex crouched down and gently took Keiths hand. He tried getting eye contact with his son, but Keith looked away almost embarrassed.

“Come on buddy” He cooed with a gentle smile approaching on his lips, but Keith didn´t look at him, instead he just slid off the chair looking down at the floor. The two walked off, without sharing a word the rest of the trip home.

***

Tex opened the front door and let Keith walk in, still with his head low. He could still hear the few sniffles that left his sons nose. It pained Tex that his son had to suffer for his lack of parenthood.

  
If you asked Keith, his dad was the best. He believed his father was the strongest and smartest person in the universe. But if you asked the parents of his classmates, Tex was a father who had failed his son, letting him grow up without a mother, letting him grow up in the middle of nowhere just the two of them.

  
Maybe they were right, but Keith didn´t believe that, and that was enough for Tex.

  
Keith picked up the hippo from the sofa and dragged his feet up the stairs. Tex couldn´t help but make a sullen expression.

  
“Keith..?” Keith stood on the middle of the stairs. Tex approached him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. As he did he could feel how his shoulder was shuddering.

  
“I didn´t mean to…He just… He” Keith was struggling to keep his tears on hold. But you could still hear the crack in his voice when he tried to explain what he had done wrong. Keith stopped himself, knowing that another word would bring out the tears and the sobbing.

  
“I know buddy, it´s not your fault” He picked up his and Keith didn´t struggle, instead he leaned in to his fathers touch, as Tex held his head against his shoulder.  
The two spend the rest of the day sitting in the sofa watching TV. None of them said much, unless it was absolutely necessary, like If one of them was hungry or had to go to the bathroom. But besides that, they just enjoyed each others presents.

  
***

As the night approached Keith and his father went on the roof , they had brought blankets and Keith had brought his hippo. They sat on a blanket looking up at the starry sky, Tex sat with crossed legs with Keith upon his thighs. Tex had wrapped a blanket around Keith and held him close to his chest.

  
“Keithy… we need to talk about what happened today” Tex broke the silence, he looked down at the raven haired boy sitting in his crotch. Keith had lowered his head, he folded his arms around the hippo, and Tex could sense the grumpy face finding it´s way on to his sons face.

“I know it can be frustrating, but you can´t hit people buddy” Tex was trying his best to sound gentle and not to scare his sons trust away.

“…I hate him…” Keith mumbled with a sniffle. Keith heard a sigh from above.

“I know you do… those Griffins sure can get on your nerves hah?” Tex tried to lighten the mood with a grin, but got no reaction from the boy in front of him, and ended up scratching his neck.

“He talked bad about mom…” Keith mumbled the words, Tex was barely able to hear them. But the next words Keith spoke was loud and clear for him “ I hate her too!” Keith shouted with an tone of anger that made his fathers heart skip a beat.

This was exactly what he had been trying to avoid, Keith hated his mother because of some stupid kids comment. It simply broke his heart. Keith shouldn´t hate Krolia, she was one of the most fantastic beings Tex had ever come across.

“Keith… you shouldn´t hate-“ Tex was cut off by the tiny being between his thighs.

“Then why did she leave?! What did I do wrong…?” Keith´s voice was cracking and you could hear how small sobs had found their way out. Tears were streaming down his small cheeks, and Tex´s heart was shattering.  
He picked Keith up in his arms and held him against his chest.

“Oh buddy, you did nothing wrong,” He tried explaining while rubbing circles on his back “You are the most precious thing for me and your mom. You shouldn´t listen to what everyone else think. Your mom loves you Keith, it´s okay if you don´t love her back, but never hate her for leaving you… she had to, one day I´ll explain it all to you.”

Keith had stopped crying and leaned in to his fathers touch, a few sniffles left him.

“What was mom like…?” The raven haired boy looked up at his father.

“Your mom? Well, she was something special, nothing I´ve ever come across before that´s for sure.” He gave his son a gentle smile and brushed his hair away from his wet face. “She was strong and courageous, and she was truly one of a kind. She was like a star that had left the sky and come down to me, and then gave me you.” 

Tex looked up at the sky with a hopeful look, he frowned his brows but kept a smile on the edge of his lips. Keith looked up as well, when he looked at his father, he looked at him with an expression full of wonder. His mom was a star, and stars belonged on the sky, that´s why she had to leave. At least, that´s what Keith told himself.

***

  
“Alright I think you´ve got it now!” Tex smiled at the paper full of solved equations lying on the table. He was helping Keith with his homework. They sat at the table with a few snacks as he watched his son use his fantastic brain. He was a bright kid no doubt about it, he just had to put some effort in to it.

  
Keith smiled up at his father and then at the paper. It reminded him of the letter he still hadn´t written for his dad yet. Parents day was tomorrow, and this time his dad had taken the day off so he could make it for sure.

“Alright think you can handle it from here?” Tex asked as he stood up and stretched his back, “I´m headed off to work now buddy,” He said as he took his fireman jacket and let it lay on his arm “Remember Maya made some sandwiches for you, I´ll hopefully be home in time to tuck you in.”  
Keith ran to his dad, who stood by the front door. He hugged him tight, and Tex crouched down to hug him even tighter which made them both giggle. Keith noticed the hover bike standing in their “front yard” though it was mostly just sand and rocks.

“Dad? Can you tell me about mom when you get home?” Keith had been curious about his mom ever since that night under the stars, and especially since it was parents day tomorrow.  
Tex was a bit taken aback by the sudden question , especially since it was about his mother.

“I promise I´ll tell you everything you want to know about her.” Tex poked Keith´s nose and made him giggle. He had decided to tell him everything about his mom, Krolia, how they met during the night after she had crashed. Maybe even show him the lion. He didn´t want Keith to walk around wondering who he was anymore. This was it, maybe he wouldn´t believe him, but he had to try.  
He drove away towards the fire station with a waving Keith in his back, while thinking of ways to explain everything that had happened before his son had even seen the light of day.

***

Keith sat at his desk with the hippo between his thighs, thinking of what he had wrote down on the paper. It wasn´t much but it was hopefully enough.   
He took another bite of his sandwich as he satisfyingly placed the paper in his backpack. He took the backpack and went downstairs, and sat on the sofa. He turned on the TV and sat happily with his hippo, waiting for his father.

  
Keith´s eyelids was starting to feel heavy. he tried to snap out of it, but had decided to let his tired body get its will, when he lay down on the sofa. He did his best to stay awake, but soon everything went dark. He quickly opened his eyes when he heard the sound of glass breaking.  
He didn´t have time to put much thought in to it, as everything went dark. And Keith was sound asleep.

***

“…ith!” Keith blinked his eyes open. He could barely see. No, he could barely breath. Smoke was everywhere, flames was surrounded him.

  
“Keith!” Tex was running towards the building swallowed by flames. He felt a pull in his arm that made him stop running.

  
“Tex you can´t go in to that building! People have already tried!” Zane was holding him back looking at him with a concerned look.

“Keith is still in there! Let go!” He pulled hard and almost stumbled when getting his arms free. He ran in to the burning building. “Keith buddy! Where are you!?” he heard coughing coming from his left.

“da..d..?” Keith saw a huge figure come closer, he held his hippo tight in to his chest. He could barely see who it was as his eyes closed. 

“Stay with me buddy…” Tex wrapped his jacket around the small figure in his arms “Hold this in front of your mouth…” He grabbed a box laying under the sofa and Keith´s backpack and hurried out. Keith held the jacket to his mouth to get a cleaner breathing, coughing once in a while and held all the things his dad had picked up.

Tex was almost at the front door, when a huge pile of planks and flames fell in front of them, and blocked the exit. Tex had barely given his actions a second thought as he threw Keith out of the opening in the front door.

Keith landed hard on the ground holding on to his hippo, a small box, a backpack and a big warm jacket wrapped around him. He looked up at the burning building in front of him, but one thing caught his eye. His dad was in his sight surrounded by flames and planks. Small soundless words made it´s way out of his mouth, but Keith was unable to hear what they were.

Tex looked at his confused son, he mouthed some words for him `I love you Keith´ and then he was gone.  
Keith could see his dad smiling at him before the burning building collapsed on top of him. Wait…

“Dad!” Keith stood up and ran towards the building. “Dad!” something held him back, someone went in front of him and held him back. But why? Dad was still in there!

“No let me go! Dad! Dad!” Tears was overwhelming his face as he struggled to get loose, but he was to weak. “Dad Don´t leave me! Come back!” Keith coughed and coughed, his eyes went blurry. All he could see was his dad smiling at him…

***  
 _`dad you´re the coolest person in the whole world, when I´m big I want to be a fireman just like you!´_

  
His dad wasn´t there to receive the words from his letter.   
Keith sat in the hospital bed hugging his hippo as sobs and whines escaped his throat. They had just told him his dad wasn´t coming back thanks to a broken oil lamp.

And all of his dads former colleagues was trying to calm him down, but Keith didn´t even want to touch them. They all stood with teary eyes trying to look strong, as the little boy in front of them cried his heart out from the lose of his dad. His one and only parent. His only family.

In the blink of an eye, Keith had lost everything.


	4. Grief and punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith was never going to see his father again no matter how much he tried to deny it. All he wanted was his dad to come and get him, but instead some lady came instead. Keith was soon going to learn that not all adults were as good as his dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo I've been pretty busy lately, but that won't stop me from writing this story! I'm sorry if it has been too long. XD
> 
> Before you read I would like to point out that I have no experience when it comes to grief or foster care in that matter. And this is not suppose to offend anybody!
> 
> Trigger warning!  
> If you are sensitive to these subjects I would recommend maybe skip this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy.

  
"Keith... buddy... you need to under-"

"No! You're lying! He's not...! He's not!" Keith wouldn't listen to any word they said. He had been sitting in the hospital bed for about an hour, sobbing his heart out and denying his older friends words.

He just wanted to see his father.

"Keithy..." A woman's voice spoke, but Keith's eyes were too blurry for him to see who and his wails were to loud to identify the voice. "Please Keithy.... it's gonna be okay..."

"I want my dad! Give me my dad!"

He lay in the bed wailing and crying in to the white pillow. Repeating the same words in his head over and over. _'He's not gone! He's not! He's not! He's not!'_

Keith had worn himself out after hours of crying and whining, and lay asleep in the hospital bed. Lara, Marc and everyone stood in the hallway, right outside the room the little boy lay in. They were all devastated after telling Keith about his father, about their friend...

 

***

  
Keith had just woken up after hours of rest, with an oxygen cannula hanging around his ears meeting under his nose. His head lay stil while his eyes sprung around from one corner of his eyes to another.  
Confusion filled his head _`Where am I?´_ The last thing he remembered was drifting off on the sofa and...  
His dad! _`Where is he!?´_

  
He sprung up in a sitting position and scanned the room. His gace was met with familiar faces, wide eyes that turned in to comforting looks but his father was nowhere to be seen.  
Rebecca sat on the edge of the bed at his feet, while everyone else stood, some with crossed arms. But all eyes were on him. Rebecca leaned forward and helped Keith getting rid off the cannula around his head.  
Maya and Lara had crouched down, were leaning their arms on the bedside.

Keith still had no idea of what was going on. Why was he here? what is going on? all these questions filled his little head, and his dad was still nowhere to be seen. The room was silent, but inside of Keiths mind; Caos was filling his mind. until a voice spoke.  
"Keith..?" Maya had rested her hand on top of his, she looked....sad? When Keith thought about it, everyone was looking sad, some had tears hanging in the corner of their eyes. "Do you remember why you´re here sweety...?" She spoke with a low and comforting voice, but you could still here the small crack that had found it´s way through her throat.  
Keith thought for a while but simply shoock his head. Everyones heart dropped, they knew they had to tell him sooner or later, but if everyone had to be honest with themself they´d rather prefer later.

They all shared sympathetic looks among each other, and then the look fell on Marc. Among all of them Marc had been the one Keith could talk to when something was bothering him and, his father weren´t around. Marc let out a small sigh and everyone took a step back.  
"Keith" He sat down beside Keith in the bed and pulled him in to a side hug.  
Keith looked down and let out a small mumble "Where´s dad...?" His voice was a bit rough as if he hadn´t spoken in years. He let out a small cough to clear his throat and fumbled with the blanket his legs was wrapped in.

"About that..." He took the small boys hand and gave it a small squeeze. "There was a fire at your house while you were home alone" He let the sentence jump out of his throat. He was barely able to sense the words he said. "You were inside the building and..." He let out a sigh and the people standing held each others hands with teary eyes, cause they all knew what was about to be said.

"Your dad went in to safe you Keith," tears had formed in his eyes. He lifted the boy, and placed him infront of himself, letting their eyes meet. Keith looked up at him with a sad frown. "We all thought it was impossible, that it was too late" His voice cracked and Keith noticed."We told him not to run back in to that building..."  
Silent waterfalls ran down everyones cheeks. except for Keith´s he was still looking at Marc.  
"But where´s dad...?"

  
Lara fell down to her knees and started crying, Keith turned around and soon everyone was crying out loud. It scared the boy, why were they crying?  
"He´s not comming back Keith! He´s gone!" Marc realised what his frustration had let him say, and quickly held a hand to his mouth as if it would take back the words.  
Zane pulled him away quickly, and they left the room.

Rebecca comforted Lara on the floor while Maya sat down infront of Keith.  
"He´s not..." Keith´s teary eyes met Maya´s sympathetic look.  
"Sweety..." She tried to brush his cheek but as soon as she touched him, he sprung out of the bed.  
"He´s not!" Tears overhvelmed his eyes. "He´s not!"

-Denial-

***

  
About two weeks later Keith found himself at the funeral

Keith had been living at Marc and Zane´s place. Through a fortnite Keith´s persona had went from a happy boy, who missed his mother to an isolated little boy, who missed his father.  
During the funeral Keith sat still looking down at his feet. Allot of people had come, most Keith didn´t even know. Some were even supprised to see a child there, but Keith didn´t care.  
He didn´t listen to a word that was said, he didn´t glance at anyone, even though he was sure that some had given his presence a few glances.

When the coffin went in to the whole, Keith never gave it a thought. That wasn´t his dad. His dad would come soon and get him, take him home and it´ll all be over.  
When the ceremony was over Maya and Rebecca had invited everyone who attempted the funeral to a wake at their house. People were quiet, the most talk you could hear were little whispers and mumbles of people giving their condolences.  
Keith sat on a chair in the corner of the living room, most people ignored him and those who tried to approach him, were pushed away by the silence of the little boy. Keith sat hugging his school bag with his head resting on the purple hippo which was to big to fit inside the bag.  
All of Keith´s belongings were in that bag pack, his father had left him a box. Said box Keith still hadn´t opened, he didn´t know what to expect from it, so he would wait for another time. The letter Keith had wrote for his father was still there.

When Keith had found it in his bag pack at Marc and Zane´s place, Keith couldn´t help put let out a few subs which ended up with Zane and Marc having to sit with a crying boy until about midnight. He had fallen asleep and the next day, Keith didn´t bother talking to any of them, actually, Keith didn´t talk to anyone...

At some point during the wake, a strange lady showed up. She wasn´t dressed like the others, she wore a dark tight suit and with a white shirt bellow. Keith looked at her from behind his dark locks of hair. She went up to Lara and Marc who stood by a table filled with snacks and drinks. They talk a bit _`Probably just giving her condolences´_ Keith thought. But then their eyes fell on Keith, and he let his gaze fall down again.

Keith didn´t give the woman much thought, he let his thoughts drift off to the past few weeks. He hadn´t been to school the past fortnight. Once again, he´d had to skip Parentsday. Everyone had changed, at least, that´s what Keith thought, they were all trying to put on their brave faces. He hadn´t payed anyone much attention these days, He just stayed in the guest room, looking out the window. His appetite was gone, he had barely eaten anything the past two weeks, if it wasn´t for Marc and Zane who kept reminding him, and bringing him food.

Everything was quiet when Keith would let his mind drift off, but then he heard them. All those little whispers, all those people which Keith didn´t even know. 

 

"Who is he?"

"I didn`t know he had a son"

"What´s going to happen to the child?"

"Where´s the mother?"

"They won´t let us take care of him will they?"

                                                                                          "They will place him at an orphanage right?"

"I don´t have time for such things!"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         "Maybe when he´s older? children at that age are so annoying"

"He just lost his father he´s going to be a mess, just send him away"

 

Keith had let his hands find their way up to his ears, he couldn´t listen to them anymore. He just wanted his dad!

***

Keith sat on the couch, he was watching a movie Rebecca had put on for him. She had noticed how uncomfortable he had been in the other room with all those people. 

He didn´t really pay much attention to the movie at first, but then... he saw a child... with both his parents...

 

"...oh Keithy..." 

Lara had crouched down in front of him, her face wore a sad frown with a sympathetic smile to go with it. She reached her hands up to his cheeks, and brushed them gently. No. She wiped small tears away from his his cheeks. He hadn´t even noticed that he had started to cry. His lip was trembling, and more tears fell down from his blurry eyes.

Soon everyone had gathered around him.

Marc and Zane stood behind him, each placing a hand on his shoulders. Maya and Rebecca sat down beside him, Maya on his left and Rebecca on his right. They all sat and caressed his back, comforted him. But if Keith had to be honest, he just wanted to be left alone. 

 

***

"I´m here for Keith Kogane" The lady from the funeral stood at the front door. "Is he ready?" She was welcommed inside by the tall man, who gestured for her to come inside.

"Yes he´ll be here in a sec"

Zane sat with Keith on the floor packing his things. It had been three days since the funeral, the lady who introduced herself as Ms. Ross, was from the child protective service. She was here to bring Keith in to the foster care system, a new family was already ready to take him in. Zane hadn´t been pleased when Marc had told him, and telling Keith had been much worse. He didn´t really understand to begin with, it was a lot to take in, in a short amount of time. But here they were, sitting on the floor with all his things packed down in his bag pack.

The lady smiled friendly when Keith stepped in to the living room where Marc and Ms. Ross stood waiting for the small raven haired boy and Maya, Rebecca and Lara sat in the sofas sharring some coffee. Keith´s eyes wend a little wide, as if first noe did he realise what was happening. He turned his gaze up at Zane, ` _what is_ happening?´

"Come on Keith" Zane took Keith´s hand with a friendly smile and walked towards the two adults standing while the women trio stood up. Keith looked down at his feet while standing in front of everyone, he didn´t say a word. He thought they were his friends, why were they giving him away?

"We´re gonna miss you so much sweet pea" Kisses were planted on each of his cheeks. 

"Be a good boy okay Keithy...?" A hand brushed through his hair a few times.

"It´s gonna be okay Keith..." Another hand was placed on his cheek, but the almost eight years old boy still didn´t look up at people he once concidered his family. He was choked in hugs by everyone, tears were shed by everyone, everyone but Keith who just stood with a dismal look on his face. And soon everyone stood up looking down at the small boy. Ms. Ross stepped forward and crouched down.

"Hello Keith, My name is Amanda Ross" She reached out her hand but it wasn´t returned, instead she gently took his hand "It´s gonna be okay, you´ll have a new home real soon" She did her best to lighten the mood, but nothing happened. Soon the two were on their way towards the car holding outside. Ms. Ross opened the door to the backseat and motioned for Keith to enter. The young boy seated himself on the backseat hugging his bag pack, not one glance found it´s way out the window, where everyone stood by the front door giving him small waves.

And then they drove off.

-Isolation-

***

When they arrived at his so called "new home" Keith stayed in the car for about 20 minutes before Ms. Ross came back and opened the door to the backseat where Keith was placed. 

"Come on out Keith, they´re very excited to meat you"

Keith stepped outside still holding his bag pack tight into his chest, he looked up from behind the dark locks hanging from his head and saw a grown man with two children, a few years older then himself, standing on the porch by the front door, in to a small ground floor flat house.

As he stepped closer the man´s smile grew wider, and then he crouched down to Keith´s height as he stood in front of him. Keith looked down at his feet again, as his grip on his bagpack loosened.

"Let me take that Keith" The man slowly took the bag out of his hands, and let his hand land on Keiths shoulder. "I´m gonna take real´ good care of you Keith" He smiled friendly, and didn´t seem to mind that the boy hiding behind his hair didn´t return any of his welcomming gestures. "My name is Nathan Clark, it´s so good to finally meat you Keith, I heard what happened to your father" The man known as Mr.Clark pulled Keith in to a tight warm hug, that Keith weren´t prepared for the least.

 

"...Don´t worry, you´ve got a new family now..."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I´m Sorry it took so long, I´ll try to post the next one a bit faster then this one, but I hope you liked it and be welcome to leave your thoughts on it in the comments^^


	5. When all is said and done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was not the direction Keith saw his life take. Keith was staying at his first foster home out of many to come, it was one thing loosing his dad, another was replacing him with a bunch of strangers and it only went down hill from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I´m not trying to offend anyone  
> Trigger warning:  
> Abuse is mentioned and described in this chapter. Now you´ve been warned.
> 
> Enjoy.

  
It was a bit cold inside the house but it looked nice, nothing like Keith had seen before. For a boy who was used to living in an old wooden cabin in the desert, the house seemed very modern. As soon as he stepped inside the entrance Keith would find himself in the hallway. To his left was the kitchen, it was very open and light colors were all over the place.

  
A bowl of fresh fruit stood on the counter, Keith noticed a hand reach out towards it from behind his dark bangs. He looked up only to meet the gaze of a boy maybe twice as old as Keith, probably twice as tall two. 

“Tch…” He took an apple from the bowl and gave Keith a stern look.  
Keith took a few steps back, but quickly stopped when he felled something stand behind him. He lay his hands on something soft with a bit of roughness to it, some sort of fabric.

“Hey there little friend,” a jolly voice spoke from above, Keith looked up only to be met by the smiling face of Mr. Clark. “Why don't you go with your new brothers and sister and they can show you your new room?”  
The girl, Anastasia, who Keith had met outside, reached a hand out towards Keith for him to take it. After a few seconds Keith took the hand hesitantly. The boy to her right was Daniel, he was tall and at the age of 12 same age as Anastasia.

“You too Connor" A woman's voice spoke from the kitchen. A woman with dark hair, though not as dark as Keith's, stood by the boy who Keith just now learned was named Connor, and gently led him towards the rest of the crowd.  
The stern look hadn't disappeared from the young teens face, he must have been about a year or maybe two older then the others. Connor let out a loud and annoyed sigh , and if Keith had to be honest he was a bit scared of the boy who now stood in front of him.

They all went down the hall while the three grown ups, Mr. and Mrs. Clark and the social worker Ms. Ross went in to the dining room to discuss Keith's new situation.

“So this is your new room”

Daniel opened the door and gestured for Keith to go inside and have a look. But The little boy stood still. This wasn´t right, this wasn´t his room, these people weren´t his family and this place wasn´t his home.

“Hey don´t cry it´ll be okay…” Keith just now noticed the wetness running down his cheeks, but stayed quiet and just let the silence fill the thick atmosphere.

“Just leave him Ana he´s just seeking attention,” The boy, Connor stood with crossed arms leaning up against the wall in the hallway. Keith could feel the tense look he gave him as he stood with dry tears itching all over his cheeks.

“Stop it Connor he can hear you…!” Daniel whispered with stern tone.

“How´s it going up here?” The woman, Mrs. Clark came from down the hall. She approached Anastasia and Daniel with a gentle hand leaning on one of their shoulders, standing in between them. “Did you show Keith his – Oh hey sweetie…” She let go of their shoulders and stepped forward in order to crouch down in front of Keith.

“He just started crying, we don´t know why” Daniel gave a shrug as he explained. 

“I know why, he´s just a crybaby…” The voice got lower as Connor walked away from the group and entered another room. Keith didn´t know which or where, he still had his look focused on his feet but he still heard the words he spoke.

“Hey it´s okay sweetie, I know it´s a bit much but it will be okay just wait and see” Keith felt hands on his upper arms and soon enough he was pulled in to a hug.

***

Lies.

All of it had been a lie, things didn´t get better. Connor wouldn´t stay quiet about his thought of Keith being a crybaby, and how he only did it for attention. Daniel and Anastasia was only trying to look good in front of the foster parents, as soon as their bags were turned they didn´t give a care in the world for Keith.

Keith had started school again a month later.

No one said a word when Keith suddenly stood in the doorway with Mr. Clark behind him. The teacher, Ms. Garret just smiled gently as she welcomed Keith in to the classroom. 

Keith was placed at his old seat with Rachel to his right and the window to his left, and of course Griffin in front of him.  
For some reason he didn´t give Keith his usual glare and rude comment when Keith sat down in silence with his head hanging low. He didn´t pay attention to what the other kids were whispering or what the two adults were mumbling about.

And from then off, Keith just stayed silent, never giving as much as a glance to anybody, not Griffin, not his teacher, not even the people at the foster home.  
Keith just woke up in silence, ate very little and when he came home from a bothersome and lonely school day, all he would do was walk pass the faces of people who either cared or didn´t and enter his room in silence.  
All he would do was sit at the window and watch strangers pass by on the street. He sat in silence as his thoughts was slowly trying to process what was happening and what would happen. 

Sometimes he would pull out sit with his backpack going through all the things he had left. Keith would pull out the small box his dad had taken with them in the hurry. He hadn´t looked in it since the incident, maybe now was the time, in his lonely room with only the natural light from the outside lighten up his blue painted room.

Keith´s eyes went wide when his eyes noticed the content of the small box. A dark leather sheath lay with the handle of the sheaths content. The eight years old boy slowly and very gently held his hand around the handle of what seemed to be a metal dagger.  
Keith had never seen anything like it. It was a bit big for Keith´s size of figure but it would probably be more approachable once he was older.  
But what really wondered Keith´s mind was, why had his dad risked his life for said knife? 

From that day on Keith would pull out the knife once in a while, he would feel a bit closer to his missing dad and if his dad would risk his life for this blade, so would Keith. It was all he had left, that and the hippo, but said stuffie never made it´s way to Keith´s side again. It was too much, too many memories of happier days.

***

Too depressed.

That had been the reason for The Clarks to get rid of the eight years old boy. After eight month, Keith now found himself at a new home, but this one was quit different.  
Keith was alone this time,. The couple, The Hopkins who took him in didn´t seem as jolly as the last one. And after spending eight month with those fake smiles and failed attempts to make Keith feel better, the boy couldn´t help but let anger find it´s way in to his chest.  
Especially when told you were too depressed. Keith was now hiding a frown and grumpy face under the dark bangs hanging from his forehead.

The new room was smaller and darker, and this time he had to share it with two boys who reminded Keith a lot of Connor from the first home. The food wasn´t the warm home cooked meal Keith was starting to appreciate from the last home.  
Keith wasn´t much for eating it, but the first time he Keith had shared his thoughts on the so called meal, something unexpected had happened. 

“You just eat what we serve for you!” And with that statement Keith´s head was pushed down in the sticky cold mush. Keith had started crying and the two boys just sat and giggled with their mouths full and a bit of fear in their eyes. “In this house we live by a few rules, if you’re picky you starve, is that understood brat?!” Keith just nodded slowly as his head was pressed harder in to the cold plate.

The next few days Keith hadn´t said anything, even though he wasn´t served anything.

But The following weekend was without a doubt the worst. It was the night between Friday and Saturday and Keith hadn´t been able to close an eye, his stomach had been twirling and making all sorts of noises.

Keith was starving. Or more or less that´s how he felt. But Keith´s mind was a whole other place as soon as he heard the thunder bolt and lightning outside. Keith let out a “Yelp!” in shock and started crying as soon as the others came on after another.  
He tried to hold his pillow in front of his mouth in order to reduce the screams that left his throat. He didn´t want to wake up the rest of the household. It was late and everyone had been laying sound asleep for about an hour.

Keith had been the first one who had been told to go to bed, he was always told to go to bed when “dinner” was over.  
As the thunder kept going and the pillow had been soaked in tears and snot, Keith found his little feet shuffle their way to the Hopkins bedroom door. Keith´s turned his right hand in to a fist and gently knocked on the door.  
The other hand was holding tight on to the hem of the black oversized T-shirt he had been given as pajamas, with dark blue shorts to match. 

“H-hello..?” His small and teary voice repeated when the storm would call out to him again followed by a scream. “Hello!?”  
Keith could hear a few grumbles from the other side of the old wooden door. And soon he could hear footsteps coming closer as he let out another sniffle. The door was strongly opened by an overweighed man.

“What?” 

“It´s just….” Keith could barely make out the words as he spoke with a never ending fear in his voice, “I just-“ He held his hands over his ear once the thunder stroke again and let out a scream. 

“For crying out loud, you woke me up in the middle of the night for this!?” He reached out and grabbed Keith by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the living room downstairs.  
Keith was smashed in to the couch and lay in pain from when he hit the couch. 

“You´re gonna learn real soon that pissing me off is a no go!” In a hurry he took off his belt as footsteps could be heard running down the stairs.

“Ronald please don-“ 

“Shut up!” He yelled as he pulled Keith up from the floor and bend him over the couch.  
The smacks could be heard in every room of the house. And the screams was almost loud enough for the neighbors to hear. Keith was a sobbing mess once the whole scene was over. He was left on the floor with a sore and bloody back.

“You stay quiet and do as you´re told – is that understood!?”

Keith could barely let out a single word as he lay on the floor and writhe in pain. And then he heard a loud smack and felt a painful stinging in his face, that made him scream even louder then before and the tears that overflowed his eyes and ran down his already wet face just made the pain on his cheek even worse.

“All three of you go to bed” He slipped on his belt again and walked upstairs with the three witness who had been watching from the end of the stairs the whole time.

***

Keith shoulders would find their way upwards, and his fingers would start shaking the moment he stepped inside the front door of The Hopkins. He would stay quiet and only speak when spoken too or else the firm hand would be used.

He had learned that the hard way, when his temper would take over during school and his anger would be expressed through fighting and yelling, mostly Griffin. He wasn´t as mean as he used to be, but for some reason the words just hit harder then they used too.  
The teacher had called him emotional challenged, which just made Keith even angrier, but when they had called Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins to the office on day Mr. Hopkins hadn´t been to happy about it. And the next day Keith had had to lie and tell them he had fallen down the stairs and gotten a black eye and that he couldn´t do P.E with a sore back. 

On Thanksgiving evening the five of them sat at a cheap restaurant with a buffet. Keith didn´t take much on his plate, he knew he could always go get more. The place was decorated with cheap Christmas decorations which was a bit too early if you asked Keith, you could smell frying oil all over the place but Keith didn´t mind, in a way it reminded him of old diner.

Keith sat by the window in the booth, with the two older boys at his side. Keith had just finished his small plate and was ready for another plate of cheap buffet food. He turned in his seat so he faced the 15 years old boy in order to let him know he wanted to get out.

“Keith don´t you think you have had enough already?” Mrs. Hopkins didn´t even look at the raven haired boy when she spoke, but her tone was gentle and made it clear that it was the end of the unfolded discussion.

About 30 minutes later, and everyone was at their third plate, Mr. Hopkins spoke up.

“So want to tell me what you´re all grateful for?” He looked up at the small company, giving everyone a questionable glance.

“How about you start Nancy?” He mumbled and gave a small grunt when he motioned his fork at her, and then began to eat again.

“I´m very grateful for our home and this lovely meal you are so kind to pay for Ronald”  
Her voice was shaking a bit, and her hands was trembling a bit too. She looked up at the bunch and gave the whole table a failed attempt on a reassuring smile. The whole attempt was ruined by the sight of the black eye Mr. Hopkins had given her two days ago, but for some reason when people asked she would lie and tell them she had been clumsy.

Mr. Hopkins let out a short thick laugh and made Mrs. Hopkins flinch. She giggled and pretended that everything was fine. Keith didn´t understand why she was acting so weird around her husband, and why she had to lie to the parents and teachers at Keith´s school.

“And you brat? What are you grateful for huh?” Keith flinched once he heard the grumpy voice approach him, He hadn´t even noticed that the two boys to his left had already spoken. 

“I-I don´t know sir…” His body tensed and his lower lip started trembling as he mumbled out the words.

“What about the home we have provided you with? Or the meals we make for you huh?” He gave Keith an intense look.

“…yes sir… I´m grateful for-“

“Speak louder!”

  
Keith flinched but did as he was told, not giving the shocked and sympathetic looks from the strangers at the restaurant a second thought.

  
“I´m grateful for the home I have at you,” Keith let out a small sub and tears would start forming in his eyes “and for the meals you make for me” Keith eyes had flowed with tears and he could barely see his hands tremble in front of him.

***

When they got home the police had come knocking on their door, apparently someone had called the police to report the abuse that had been going on for the past six month.  
Mrs. Ross had been called immediately and came to pick Keith up. He had been talking to an officer who had asked him questions about the home, at some point he even had to take of his shirt and show the bruises Mr. Hopkins had given him.  
The officer had given him a gently hug and told him that it would all be okay now, when Mrs. Ross came, she had done the exact same. For some reason the adults thought that a hug and those words was some kind of magic spell, to make everything better. It didn´t.

Keith had been placed in the car as Mrs. Ross spoke to the officer and then they drove off.

  
Keith had been placed at a group home with the two boys from The Hopkins home. When he was showed to his room Keith had gotten a bit of a surprise. Not only did he have to share a room with someone but that someone being Connor from The Clarks home, took him by surprise.

“Hey” He lay with folded legs in his bed reading a comic and had an almost emotionless expression.  
Keith lay his backpack on his new bed and remembered the words the adults had spoken “everything was going to be okay” He believed them, just like when his father had said those exact words, whenever Keith had been scared or just felt a bit down.

Everything would be okay now.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time is when Shiro will be introduced. can´t wait^^
> 
> This chapter felt a little short to me, I don´t know. If you have something on your mind when it comes to this story feel free to leave a comment.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.


	6. Meeting the pilot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith had decided on two things once he left the group home once again. One, never take pity from anyone. Two, never show your weaknesses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your Kudos, they realy inspire me to go on with this story^^
> 
> Trigger Warning!
> 
> Abuse is mentioned and performed in this chapter
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy.

Nothing was okay, as far as Keith believed he was cursed. Things didn’t get better. The other kids at the group home had been through more families then Keith, they were older then Keith too, so when you looked at it like that it might not have been that surprising.

  
Connor, Keith’s roommate hadn’t said much the first month Keith had spent at the home, and he didn’t actually expect him too.

  
But one cold December evening when Keith was changing in to his pj-shirt, Connor had caught him in said act. The now 15 year old boy noticed the many belt marks that had scratched his skin, torn it apart till the blood had found it’s way through the wound and turned in to scars.

  
After Keith had changed his clothing, he laid down and slid under the covers and turned his back to the room.

  
Connor sat on his bed which stood on the opposite side of Keith’s. He felt bad, for the last few weeks he had spend his time calling Keith a crybaby and ignoring him.

  
“I heard what they did to you,” It was true, before Keith was send to the home, Connor had been told that he’d get a new roommate, one who was young of age, oh, and he just came from an abusive foster home. Keith hunched under the comforter, and let out a sniffle ”You should learn how to defend yourself against people like that” No response.

  
***

  
Then Christmas came , this was Keith’s second Christmas without his dad. The first one had been held at the Clarks and back then Keith had spend the evening in his room feeling sorrowful while looking out the window.

  
But now was different, all the kids sat at a long, slim, wooden table in a huge dining room. Where of course all the meals were eaten, but this time it was different. Christmas decorations filled the room and up against one of the walls stood a just as long as said table filled with all kinds of different warm and juicy food.

  
Once everyone had sat down at the table and eaten the dinner, dessert was placed on the nearby table, and everyone welcome to enjoy the different desserts that were placed on the table.

  
Almost everyone stood up and rushed to the other table, Keith was no exception. He stood behind what felt like hundreds of legs, hips shoved him further away from the sweet pies and cookies. The older teens were giggling as they reached their greedy hands towards the sweets.

  
Keith could just barely glance the pumpkin pie, brownies, gingerbread cookies and probably a whole lot more. This had been very different from his last holiday where he’d barely gotten enough food. And last year Keith’s appetite was out of the question. So it had been a while since he’d had the chance to actually enjoy a holiday meal. This was nice, Keith thought, except…

  
“Get away brat…!” Another few giggles, Keith noticed how most things were taken and then they started shoving all the plates and dish up against the wall. It made it even harder for Keith to reach across the table for at least a cookie.

  
As he reached for one of the last cookies, it was snapped from the plate right in front of his eyes. Keith let out a pout and got puffy cheeks.

  
“Aww… did the wittle guy want the cookie?” An older girl cooed “Is this what you want?” She held up what now was the last cookie far to high for Keith to reach, and he tried. Keith stretched his arm as high as he could but the teen was pushing him down while holding the gingerbread man high up in the air.

  
Keith let out a tiny whine and hoped that it wasn’t too loud for any of the others to –

  
“Did you hear that? – what a baby!” the others started to laugh “Sorry kid, no arms no food” people laughed even more now. And then, Keith was pushed hard to the ground.

  
“Hey dude chill! You’re freaking him out!” One of the older kids yelled, Keith didn’t noticed at who. He laid crippled at the floor, arms over his head. People was standing around Keith in a circle with shocked expressions stuck to their faces.

  
_`I can’t breath!’_

  
The raven haired boy, lay on the ground barely able to breath. He thought he was going to die on the wooden floor, surrounded by Teens and kids with no more words to speak and two adults who tried endlessly to cradled Keith in their arms and help him catch his breath, unaware that the touch only made it worse.

  
This was the first time Keith had experienced a panic attack.

  
That evening Connor had sat down with him and taught him how to throw a few good punches, and defend himself. Connor had said “ We aren’t friends, I’m just tired of hearing you crying okay?” where Keith had nodded and told him with a stern and grumpy face “I won’t cry!” so they went on.

  
Connor had a poster hanging on the wall above his bed. He had told Keith about The Galaxy Garrison, a place for future pilots. He told him stories of how pilots of the Garrison went to space, became astronauts who flew among the stars.

  
Keith’s thoughts fell on the words his dad had spoken a long time ago, on a starry night on the roof of their old house in the dessert. His mom was a star that came from the sky.

  
If Keith was a pilot… Maybe he could find his mom?

  
***

  
Through the years Keith had went back and forth, from one home to another. Keith had used the different techniques Connor had taught him, in the different schools Keith had to attempt when moving from place to place.

  
It hadn’t been popular among the different homes neither. Once again Keith had found a home where the adults had used a different sorts of parenting that Keith hadn’t been used to when living with his dad.

  
When things got too much or he missed his pop he would run away, always the same place. Keith had started running away once he came to the Johnsons. When Keith had had one of his famous angered outbursts. When he came back he was shoved in to a closet and told that he would spend the next two days in there.

  
The ten years old boy, was locked out of the closet and told to go take a shower, he had been forced to take a short and cold shower and “Don’t you dare use the shampoo!”

  
Keith had shuffled out of the shower messy hair and almost skinny to the bones, looking in the mirror Keith noticed how awful looking he had become. Tears welled up in his eyes and the mirror become all blurry as if he had taken a hot and long shower. But he wouldn’t allow himself to cry, he wouldn’t allow himself to let his guard down.

  
When he came down with soaked and dirty clothes (He had had all his clothes taken away, something about sharing them and stop being selfish.) He hadn’t been given a towel either, Keith was cold and shivered as if he was having one of his many panic attacks.

  
He came down the stairs, he couldn’t tell why he did it, a small part of him had probably hoped that a plate with food was waiting for him at the dinner table. But a slap in the face, might as well had given the same warm felling in his cheeks as a warm meal after a cold and freezing shower. Pulled to the floor and sat upon by the man with the smoking cigarette. The room was almost as foggy as the bathroom could’ve been or the steaming hot meal that could’ve awaited him.  
  
“Cold are we?” The man grinned as pressed the burning hot cigarette against, the all too small for his age, boy’s pale skin and left a mark “let me help with that” A laughter left his sore throat.

  
Soon Keith felt all too many burns against his skin both from the man and his plastic girlfriend. All while Keith tried to fight back while screams left his mouth and tears had found their way in to the corners of his eyes. He did his best to hold it back, focusing on the main goal.

  
He slowly got loose, and when Mr. Johnson had one of his coughs fit, Keith found a change and he took it. He got loose and pushed his way up, using the little power he had left in his sore body, his tired arms. He didn’t think twice about running towards the front door, not giving the people screaming ain the background one glance.

  
And so he ended up at the graveyard.

  
At his dad’s grave.

  
Standing their all alone, small hands that had turned in to fists in order to hold the tears back, Keith stood and thought about what would become of him.

  
“…dad…” _come back, don’t leave me._

  
Speaking of leaving, Keith’s thoughts fell on his mother. 

Or what mother?

  
Where was she?

Why did she have to leave?

  
Shouldn’t she have been the one taking care of him now?

  
Did she even know?

  
Had his dad been doing it all wrong?

  
Was James’ mom right?

  
He felt so alone, in a world filled with people who only wanted to hurt him. Maybe he had just been lucky with his dad. Maybe he had just been acting friendly like some of the homes did, just waiting for the right moment to strike, No! he caught himself in the act of thinking of his dad like that, his pop was a hero, a hero for all the lives he had saved through the years, and a hero for the son he had saved, left behind.

  
“Keith…?”

  
Keith turned his head to his right where the voice spoke from, the wind had blown through the fall leaves that blew in the air, Keith’s hair had blown in front of his eyes, but once he was able to pull it back and have a look at the one who spoke, he saw not one, not two, but a whole group of people. People he had once considered family.

  
Keith had run fast and didn’t, not given them a second thought as his feet carried him across the gravel roads on to the exit of the graveyard and back to the group home where his social worker had been informed of his now five month situation from the police. Keith had punched her chest and pushed her away as she tried to give him an apologizing hug.

 

***

  
Connor had turned 17 and had come back to the group home, Keith approached him with a smile but was received with something else.  
“Listen crybaby, I told you we’re not friends.” He moved forward giving Keith’s shoulder a push, but Keith followed him up the stairs anyway.  
“But I thought – “

  
“Listen,” He stopped and turned around “The only reason I “helped” you out, was out of pity, now get lost orphan boy, my mom is waiting for me”  
“Your mom…?”

  
Connor’s mom had apparently decided she was able to take care of the teen that had been teaching Keith for many years, of how to stand up for yourself in this messed up world. And from that day on, he was gone, and Keith felt more alone then ever. Now his only company had been the knife he had liked to practice with, the knife he would die for, just like…

  
He had hid it under his pillow to feel safe, in the house full of disciplinary problem kids , and especially on those nights where the thunder would show up. The older kids had quickly found out his everlasting fear of thunder and lightning, and had not thought twice of using it against him.

  
One night came where they would attack Keith in the middle of the night, where he lay holding on to the knife for comfort, but had regretfully let go once someone entered and pulled in his legs. Five boys had held him on his angles and arms, one had been holding a hand over his mouth so they wouldn’t wake up the adults. They had shoved him out in the rain and locked the front door, leaving Keith all alone out in the cold dark fall night.

  
Keith had been screaming and sobbing, as he pulled on the doorknob, but they had only started laughing and soon they left. The eleven years old boy had sat down hugging his legs and buried his face in his knees, while sobbing his heard out.

  
Keith had decided on two things once he left the group home once again. One, never take pity from anyone. Two, never show your weaknesses.

 

***

  
When Keith was twelve he lived with The Hogans

  
Greg and Lilly Hogan. A couple in their forties, a they were by far the worst foster home Keith had been at, they had a basement that Greg liked to use when Keith wasn’t “Behaving” He would lock him down there in the darkness for hours, maybe days.

  
He would use his fists, as well his belt, or whatever he could find laying around when he had the need to get the anger out of his system. Keith would never fight back when it came to being punished by his foster parents.

  
They had had a dog once, at least that’s what Keith thought when he saw the old dog house in the overgrown garden. He had a room on the second floor, it seemed more like a big closet, but he was some what used to it by now. With all those different homes some things never changed. The cold showers, the lack of food, the lack of clothes.

  
What did change was the punishments, the abuse. And the anger Keith felt towards all of them. He didn’t want pity from anyone, so he let his sadness and pain turn in to anger, and expressed it by fighting in school, vandalism and isolation.

A good thing – if there was a good side to all this – Keith was back in his old city, his old school. When he stepped inside the classroom, all eyes were one him and Keith could sense the tension that grew in the room.

 

As always Keith’s shoulders found their way almost up to his ears, while his gaze went down to his feet behind his dark bangs. And the whispers began

  
“Keith…?”

  
“Is that…?

  
“No way… Kogane…?”

  
“He looks horrible…”

  
“So skinny…”

  
“He’s back….”

  
Keith clenched his hands in to fists and found the seat he had been instructed to sit at. He sat in the back of his class by the windows, Keith looked up for the first time since he stepped inside the classroom. He noticed a some what familiar face among the rest of his old class.

***

  
Months past by.

Keith had been in a few fights with the one and only James Griffin, some things never changed. Griffin had made fun of how the foster home had made him look like some homeless child.

  
“Oh wait… isn’t that – ugh!”

  
Keith had cut him off with his fist.

  
Of course Greg was not pleased by his actions, since he had been the one the school called, and had “dragged” up to the office as Greg expressed it. Greg had told them about the stamp he had got as a discipline case.

  
But here some things had changed.

  
Mrs. Griffin had changed, instead of blaming everyone but James she told them it wouldn’t happen again and then they left. Griffin gave Keith a stern look when he stood from his seat. But if Keith was honest with himself that wasn’t the thing that bothered him.

  
What did bother him was the look Greg gave him, once they were home, behind closed doors.

 

***

 

“Everyone listen up” A voice spoke from the front of the class, Keith let his glance find it’s way to where the voice spoke from. It was the principal and some guy in a uniform. Keith didn’t bother and just let his sight turn back to the window where he always let his glance fall on to the blue sky. He watched the clouds in all their different white shapes, clouds that just flew with the wind, unbothered by everything down on the ground.

  
“I’ve brought a special guest with me today,” The principal has announced in front of the whole class one month before summer vacation, “ I’m sure you all recognize him, He’s the youngest pilot ever to lead a mission in to space, Takashi Shirogane!”

  
Space, it was the only word that really cadged Keith’s mind. He would continue looking at the sky, but let his thoughts drift to above the blue and white scenery. Space was big and empty, cold and quiet, in a way it intrigued the young boy.

  
While Keith sat in his own thoughts and didn’t even bother looking up at the two adults, the rest of the class’ eyes were almost glued stuck to the man in front of them.

 

  
  
The class was applauding which left Shiro with a nervous feeling. People would laugh if he ever said this out loud but, going to space was nothing compared this, standing in front of a bunch of small individuals who looked at him like he was a hero who’d just saved their life’s.

  
_`yeah like that would ever happen Takashi´_ Shiro scolded himself, in a way he guessed that some people might have been looking up to him, but he would never think that he was better then anyone. Who knows maybe one of these applauding kids will end up beating his records one day, and people would be looking up to them.

  
Right now, Shiro was the one they were looking at, it was now his job to tell them just how great The Galaxy Garrison was, and find future new cadets for after the upcoming summer.

  
“Thanks for having me,” He smiled, looking out at youngsters, maybe future cadets, he noticed how excited everyone got he even heart some whispers that was spreading among the class.

  
“Wow, it’s really Takashi!”

  
“I’m excited”

  
The woman to his right spoke again “Shiro broke the record of the fastest orbital velocity,” Shiro almost got embarrassed from the words he had heard many times before, but would still get a little shy when speaking of it himself. He just hoped he wouldn’t start blushing or anything. ”beating the old heliocentric speed by about 50 kilometers per second.” He had to give to her, she had really prepared her facts.

  
The kids were applauding again.

  
“The Galaxy Garrison has sent me to schools in the area,” he cut the applause off with gentle smile as he spoke of why he was standing there in front of them “ to help find the generation of astroeexplorers.”

 

They looked at him with hopeful and intriguing eyes, some who had let their chin fall all the way down to their desk, “Who’s ready to found out if they got what it takes?” the hopeful eyes turned in to energetic and excited looks in a blink of an eye. They all raised their hands as high as they could, a guy in the front even stood up, the sight gave Shiro a nice acknowledged feeling inside his chest.

  
Everyone was yelling at the same time but Shiro had no doubt of what they were trying to tell him. He cut them off and spoke again with a happy grin on his face and a faint laugh in his voice, making him almost sound all jolly.

  
“All right, all right. Well in order to do that, we’re going to give you a test,” This was always his favorite part cause as the kids started sighing and letting out a few whines his next sentence would bring on the happiest faces, that Shiro always enjoyed.

  
“By playing a video game.” He said proudly, closing his eyes, listening to all the cheers that came from the classroom.

  
But something caught his eyes once he started opening them again, something that had been in the corner of his eye sight through the whole speech. While everyone was overlapping each other with their talking and whispering, one boy sat still, gazing out the window. He looked like he sat in his own thoughts, not giving a care to what was going on inside the classroom.

  
He looked small compared to the rest of his class, Shiro noticed how not one was speaking to him and making him seem lonely as he sat quiet on his seat.

 

***

 

Once they made it outside Shiro would speak again standing in front of the simulator he was about to present for the kids.

  
“Introducing the Orbit Axiom X,” Motioning at the machine, “ The Galaxy Garrison’s most advanced flight simulator.” He continued as the whole class was starring with wide eyes, or most of it, the raven haired boy from before was looking at the ground with his arms crossed. Probably just wanted to be over with it. “Cadets not much older then you use simulators just like this to train to become the next generation of space explorers.”

  
Still not looking up, as he stood in the back of the crowd that seemed very enthusiastic , and excited.

  
“Let’s see what you got.” Maybe he would loose up once he got to try out the Simulator.

  
“Wow!”

  
One by one they would try out the Simulator, many made it through the first level. Everyone seemed to really back each other up, when they were go through the meteor field the screen showed.

  
A bunch made it through the second level too, but only a few made it to the third level, which was about right considering it being their first time.  
The showed potential.

  
As everyone had made it through Shiro announced, “We’ve had some great tries, but nobody’s made it past the third level yet.”

  
Then his eyes fell on the boy from before, He sat down on a metal box with his back turned to everyone, closing them off. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen him try out the simulator yet. Even if he didn’t care, he still deserved the offer right?

  
“Looks like you’re the only one left.” Shiro wouldn’t let him slip that easy.

  
The boy turned his head towards the officer, and stood up.

 

 

Keith was taken by surprised when the guy, whatever his name was, had approached him. Asking him if he wanted to try out, why did he even care?

“Think you got what it takes?”

  
Keith stood but didn’t let his eyes find anything else then the ground. He walked up to the simulator, it was nothing like Keith had ever seen.  
He didn’t say a word as he made his way towards the seat inside. All the others had stepped away, giving him stern looks, Keith could easily tell what they were thinking.

  
_`Why do you even try? You’re a nobody.´_

  
And they were right, why did he even bother? Was it the hope that maybe he was actually good at something, other then showing anger and getting in fights.

  
He sat down, and slowly held around the joysticks. It felt, almost natural. He started the game and “oh boy” was he in for a surprise. Even though it wasn’t real it felt great , it was like it came naturally to him. He still had a frown on his face, but a concentrating one, even as the guy behind kept staring in the back, and soon everyone joined.

  
For once it felt like he was actually a part of the class, as everyone stood in awe, he even heard one guy calling him an emo kid, but let it pass, he was in a whole other world, and soon a whole other level.

  
LEVEL 5  
COMPLETE

  
“No way!” James came from behind, making Keith flinch a bit, “Keith made it past level five? Thing’s gotta be broken.” _Of course_ , Keith thought. 

_`Wait! Is James actually jealous?´_

  
_`Hasn’t anyone else gotten this far too?´_

  
Keith carried on, continuing with level six. He heard faint in the background the Principal speaking again.

 

  
“I’ve compiled a list of students who I think would make the best candidate for the Garrison.” Shiro took a look at the list, going through it. He remembered the boy who approached the raven haired kid by the name Keith, he had kept it stuck in his head, and was now searching for it on the screen –

  
_`Where was it?´_

  
He looked back at the kid in the seat, throwing his thump at him as he looked back at the principal. “Is this guy on there?” he asked, “Looks like he’s just about ready to fly the real thing.” he had to be, the kid was a natural maybe even the best the Garrison –

 

“Keith?” She lifted a brow, throwing a discussed look towards the boy known as Keith, “he’s a bit of a discipline case.”

  
A discipline case? But he seemed so calm, a bit lonely, but calm and the way he flew made it seem like he belonged in that seat, steering a ship. How bad could he be since he had gotten the stamp of the disciplinary kid?

  
“I don’t think he’d necessarily fit in with the rigid Garrison culture.”

 

  
_`How dare she!?_ ´ Keith gritted his teeth as he could feel the anger build up inside him. He left his seat and let someone else take the wheel, and before he knew it he was out of there. He was going to show her all of them. He saw the vehicle standing there on the parking lot. They didn’t want him and he definitely didn’t want to stay here either.

  
So he got in to the car, the keys were still in there. It almost felt to easy.

 

 

Shiro was a bit taken aback of the words she had spoken, and she motioned for another boy to step forward, one of the kids who had made it to the third level.

  
“This is James Griffin.” The boy smiled calmly at him “He has the highest grades in school.” The principal spoke as grades were more important then the future pilot they all had just witnessed.

  
The boy James spoke, and though Shiro was happy to meet him, his thoughts still fell on the boy who piloted the simulator right now. “It’s an honor to meat you, Mr. Shirogane.”

  
Shiro didn’t know what to say, he was shocked. How could she let such talent go to waste –

  
The simulator made a whine from behind him, making Shiro look, FAIL was written on the screen but something else got his attention. An engine roaring from the parking lot, no his engine, his car!?

  
The people around him was shocked, but he kept on a stern look as his car drove away. He had a feeling he knew who was driving it out of anger, and Keith had every right to be angry.

  
“Is that your car?”

  
Shiro wouldn’t accept this, Keith deserved more then anyone a chance to get in to the Garrison. He wouldn’t let that talent go to waste.

 

Shiro was determined, he would give Keith a second chance.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> And thank you for the Kudos, I feel like I forget to mention that when I'm writing even though they mean the world to me.
> 
> And Shiro got introduced in this chapter!.... finaly...!
> 
> I can't wait to write some bonding between those two!
> 
> speaking of writing, I think I've found a pattern in this story. I will try and post one chapter a week^^
> 
> Bye.... And Thank you!


	7. A second chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith believed his childhood dream of becomming a pilot was long gone, until he met a certain someone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know it's been a long time since last time I uploaded a new chapter.  
> And yes I have no excuses...
> 
> I seriously don't know what happened to my motivation. 
> 
> Then season 8 happened -_- And some depresseion started inside me and all my motivation was gone.... I got a lot of new ideas to new fics but I wanna finish this one first. I will not promise when a new chapter will be out but I'll upload as often as I can.
> 
> Enjoy

**7 years**

  
“Dad?”

  
Small feet shuffled across the wooden floor. A raven haired boy appeared in the kitchen area with a happy grin across his face.

  
Tex looked away from the unfinished chicken, frying on the pan. Oiled vegetables lay in a dish in the oven and a warm air was filling the room. Tex looked down and found his son standing at his feet holding up a piece of paper.

  
“Look!” Straight forward, just like his mother, Tex thought as he crouched down to his son’s level. “Look what I made!”

  
Tex stretched out his hand and held the paper lightly, while Keith looked at him with excited amethyst eyes.

  
“Do you like it…?” And just like that the excitement had turned in to shyness and those small purple eyes had lost their excitement.

  
Tex found it a bit amusing, how his son could resemble his mother in so many ways. Still Keith would hold it back sometimes and show a nervous look. different much softer side of himself, that Tex adored. He looked down at the drawing his son had approached him with.

  
“Wow Keith… It’s beautiful.” It wasn’t. But Tex wouldn’t let Keith know that. It looked just like any other six-years-old’s drawing but Tex adored every single one of them, only wishing his mother was able to see them and treasure them the same way he did.

  
“You really think so!?”

  
Tex pulled his son into his chest and held him with his strong arms. He told his son yes as he looked it over once again. The drawing showed a fireman put out a fire. A fire created by a spaceship about to leave the ground.

 

A spaceship?

  
“Keith,” The drawing had started a series of questions inside Tex’s mind. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

  
The boy looked up at his fathers curious face with an ‘o’ formed mouth. One look at his father and the mouth turned into a grin and his look gazed down upon the drawing.

  
“I wanna be a fireman, like you dad!” He pointed at the stick figure on the paper.

  
“Oh yeah?” Tex couldn’t help but smile

  
“Mhm and a spaceship pilot, like Kashi!” _wait what?_

  
“Wait what?” He looked down at his son with a lifted eyebrow. The questions had returned. “A fireman and a pilot? And who’s Kashi…?” Tex didn’t have to say no more. Keith held on to his wrist and pulled him towards the TV he had been sitting in front of when drawing.

  
“The boy in the TV!” Tex let his eyes follow to where his son’s finger was pointing.

 

** Takashi Shirogane **  
** [First year GG cadet breaks records] **

 

***

Keith had made it pretty far in the vehicle but the police had caught him anyway.

  
Keith sat quietly as he waited. They had told him that someone had come to get him out of here, though he it was, was a mystery to Keith. Who’d care about him?

  
Though he had made a lot of trouble through the years Keith had never made it as far as Juvenile Detention. it seemed his life was never meant to go in the direction of a hero like his dad, a firefighter. Not to mention becoming a pilot for the Garrison. It was just like the principal had said. A discipline case just another name to add to the list.

  
A failure

  
A mistake

A nobody

  
A motherless boy

  
A hothead

 

  
A discipline case…

  
The list went on.

  
Keith was fourteen-years-old, and in those fourteen years their had only been one person who actually cared for him. And that person was gone, he had been gone for 7 years now.

  
Which was why he found it strange that someone was actually here. To get him out. To help him?

  
No that’s not how things work, Keith knew that, there had to be something wrong.

  
Keith sat with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face as some guy with fancy boots approached him.

  
“Hey” The voice sounded familiar… Keith took a quick glance up from behind his dark bangs. _No way!_

  
Keith’s eyes widened as the man in front of him was none other then the Galaxy Garrison’s own golden boy Officer Shirogane. Keith excitement disappeared as fast as it had appeared. He was here to scold him, it was his car after all.

  
Keith closed his eyes and clenched his fists, preparing himself for what came next.

  
“Come on let’s get you out of here”

  
_Wait what..?_

  
Keith looked up on the man in front of him, could be nothing more then in the beginning of his twenties. Keith sat in disbelieve as Mr. Shirogane held the door open for them both to step outside to where the officers car was waiting.

  
“you’ve got someone to come pick you up?” Keith was a little startled by the mans sudden question. He looked down at him, and Keith lied and just gave him a nod. Why should he care anyways? Which let Keith to wonder.

  
“I don’t get it.” He said following the man further outside “I steal your car and you respond by me out?” Keith asked as the officer got in to his giant GG vehicle. What surprised him even more was the guys answer.

  
“Yeah, so you owe me one” Shirogane said with big grin in his face. Which only made Keith’s frown deepen. He didn’t owe this guy anything.

  
But once again the guy surprised Keith. He pulled out a tiny piece of paper, a card.

  
“Be at this address tomorrow at 0800 hours.” He said as he held his arm stretched out for Keith to take the card.

  
He lifted his brows as he reached out to take the card from him, as he did he felt the older guy’s fingertip touch his own, a small flinch ran through him, but he took the card anyways. Keith looked down at the card in his hand, an address was printed down on it amongst other things, that Keith didn’t bother focusing on as the man spoke again.

  
Keith looked up at the man sitting in his car.

  
“You’re getting a second chance.” He said with a soft smile before the windows of his car closed and then he drove off. Leaving a stunning 14-year-old behind.

 

***

 

Shiro sat at the table, his head resting his in his arms, leaning over the table. He sat thinking about the boy he had encountered earlier. He let out a sigh, and turned his brows into a frown. He thought of how the other kids had ignored him, how the principal had talk of him like he was toxic.

“Why the grumpy face?” Adam said, walking towards the table with a freshly homemade lasagna. He sat down across from Shiro. “Is this about earlier?” Adam asked, as he started picking at his food. ”Can’t believe you just let him go free like that… I mean the kid stole your car” Adam took a bite of lasagna.

“Hey, the kid’s a natural Adam,” Shiro started eating too “ You should’ve seen him, he was better then anyone I’ve ever seen at their first go” Shiro spoke with his mouth full.

“He. Stole. Your. Car!” Adam was pointing at him with fork. “you pulled him out of juvenile Takashi, the boys a troublemaker, he doesn’t stand a chance at the Garrison.”

  
“I’m meeting him again tomorrow, giving him another chance…” Shiro said in a low tone, smirking at his plate.

  
Adam’s eyes widened in shock. He held his fork up with some lasagna, that slowly fell off. “Now hold on a minute babe” He stumbled in his words, and Shiro found it cute as he looked up at his boyfriend with wide grin on his face. “You’re gonna help him? Tell me again why he took your car!”

 

“The principal said something that I suppose got on his nerves, and I can’t blame him… from where I was standing the kid looked like he was all alone…” Shiro’s grin turned back into a frown and he let out a sigh. “He looked like he could use some help Adam that’s all”

 

“You really wanna help him that much huh?” Adam copying Shiro’s sad face. Shiro responded with a small nod.

  
“And you gotta admit, a 14 -year-old who can drive a vehicle, is pretty cool” Shiro chuckled, with Adam sitting across from him, shaking on his head with a soft smile stuck to his lips. He could not believe he fell for that guy. 

 

***

Keith came home to an empty house. He had stayed at this mans house for over a year now. 

The previous home had been the worst one yet, at least Keith liked to think it was. He tried not to think of it too much. not that his new "caretaker" gave him any time to once he came home.

"I got a phone call from your principal" 

Keith stood still, shoulders tensed and his look focused on his feet, that's how people want it. The card the shirogane guy had given him was held tight in the palm of his hand. He had still been holding on to it when walking home from the detention center.

"You're lucky that the officer was nice enough to get you out of there, I sure wouldn't," He stepped closer to Keith, until his shadow was covering his whole figure. "What you got there?" 

Keith's eyes widened as he saw the mans hand approach his fist with the card inside. He quickly pulled his hand away, instantly regretting it.

"So that's how it is, _huh_!?" He said with a loud "huh" that sent a shiver down Keith's spine. 

"I'm sorry... I-" A hand interrupted him and send him to the floor, Keith let out a sob, he let out a gasp as he was pulled down the hallway by his feet. "No! Please! Let me go!" Keith screamed with all the power of his lungs, still holding on tight to the card, he had been given.

 

_“You’re getting a second chance.”_

Keith couldn't get the words out of his head, that soft smile...

 

He truly believed his childhood dream of becomming a pilot was long gone. He wasn't sure if Mr. Shirogane actually cared, but he remembered a time where he had looked up to this guy, and if it would give him an excuse to get out of the hellhouse he had been placed in... then he would go...

 

Shirogane had helped him, reached out to him. Maybe he had only had an interest in Keith because he had been good in the simulator... or...

Did he actually care?

 

All these thoughts went through his mind as he lay beneath the wooden floor, where he had been forced to spend his night once again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this chapter was okai, I have a small plot to this story, but the general story is just between Shiro and Keith and how their relationship evolves.
> 
>  
> 
> I have been thinking of adding some Sheith later on, is that something anyone would like? ( except me ^^)


End file.
